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Obviously, I spend my days working as one of Plugged In’s editors. We do our best to sift through what’s happening in the entertainment world to give our readers accurate information they can use to make the discerning decisions for their families. But I have a confession to make: It can still be easy to […]

We’ve heard it so many times before, from our parents, our teachers, from success gurus. “Learn from your failures,” they say. But, of course, every time we fail miserably our brains tell us, “Boy, I never want you to do that again.” Here’s the thing, though. All the greats down through history who changed the […]

It’s not often that I see a movie that prompts me to think, Every family with teens I know should see this. But last year’s I’m Not Ashamed, the inspiring, tragic story of Columbine victim Rachel Joy Scott had that effect on me. I’m revisiting the film now for two reasons: One, it was a […]

Mary Tyler Moore, one of television’s true legends, died yesterday at the age of 80. She became a star as Laura Petrie, the beautiful, charming and occasionally hysterical wife of Rob Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show. But she became an icon for her self-titled sitcom as Mary Richards. And it’s in that role […]

We all know that teens today face plenty of struggles—some of which I’m going to talk about shortly. But let’s start with some good news. Want your kids to say no to substance abuse? Having dinner regularly as a family is one simple, tasty way to build a relational bond that correlates with wiser choices. […]

Most of us gave thanks last Thursday, acknowledging our many blessings. Many celebrities likely did the same. But Lady Gaga suggested that, for all the fame and success she’s achieved (and is surely thankful for), something’s been lost along the way. “I miss people,” she said on CBS Sunday Morning, breaking down in tears. “I […]

It’s no secret that Chip and Joanna Gaines, the down-to-earth personalities of HGTVs reality TV show Fixer Upper, are committed Christians. But you probably haven’t heard their story like this. In an interview with I Am Second, the couple opens up and tells the moving story of their faith and their marriage. It is a […]

It’s a grim truism that it doesn’t pay to be a parent in an animated Disney movie. I mean, two words: Bambi’s mom. Right? And that poor deer is just (perhaps) the most well-known character on a long, long list of parents who don’t make it out alive (or are never around in the first […]

In the past couple of weeks, I’ve screened no less than three movies dealing with the subject of cancer. These are, as you might imagine, difficult movies to “enjoy.” Cancer is a terrible disease, and probably most of us have felt its touch in one way or another. And yet I can honestly say, despite […]

How do you respond when a celebrity accepting an award uses that opportunity to preach a mini-sermon? I don’t know about you, but I immediately reach for the remote so I can mute the TV. I’m exposed to enough marketing elsewhere in my life—like, well, everywhere—that I generally don’t respond very patiently to famous people […]

Earlier this year, a young female reporter broke the news of a suspected murder in her hometown. And pretty quickly she started getting hammered online for her reporting. But it wasn’t because she had done a bad job. No. It was because she was, like, 9 years old. Hilde Kate Lysiak, the precocious little investigative […]

I reviewed A&E’s Born This Way this week (the review will be posted later today). It’s a reality show that focuses on several young adults with Down syndrome, and a refreshing change from the many reality shows that are predicated on greed and selfishness and bad behavior. It’s a gentler program that, while not exactly […]

In junior high, I was the only kid in school who didn’t have parachute pants. In high school, I never owned a pair of Air Jordans. And now—unlike, it would seem, the rest of the free world—I have not yet downloaded Pokémon Go. My wife has. My grown kids have. I’m about the last holdout […]

Celebrities are different than the rest of us “normal people,” in pretty much any way you want to define the word different. They’re prettier or more handsome. They have more money. They get more attention. They live in nicer places, drive nicer cars. Etcetera. Because of that, I wonder if we sometimes subconsciously suspect that […]

They say that the apple never falls far from the tree, but in my son’s case that’s not always true. And I mean that in a good way. Currently, he’s in the Army’s JAG program. Sadly, I didn’t serve a single day for Uncle Sam. He was a literature major in college, doing his senior […]

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Good media discernment is about guarding our eyes and hearts before we watch or listen. And it's also about grappling with the entertainment we do see or hear. That's why the Plugged In Blog is devoted to guarding, discussing and grappling.